HORROR The Bat (1959) This one's uphill sledding for Vincent Price fans. There's little life in writer/director Crane Wilbur's tedious adaptation of the classic story by Mary Roberts Rineheart. All the ingredients are there -- the spooky house, the hooked-handed killer and a solid story that had already been filmed three times before. But Price is wasted as the prime herring as is Agnes Moorehead as the family matriarch. Watch for Our Gang's Darla Hood in an adult role, and dig that crazy Bat theme by steel guitar ace Alvino Rey. Acting: C+ Atmosphere: C- Fun: D+ RETURN TO TOP The Bat Whispers (1930) Thank the folks at Milestone Video for releasing this beautifully restored version of the classic old house thriller. Atmospheric lighting, spectacular miniatures and expressive shadows punctuate the action, and Chester Morris is in fine form as the sneering detective conscripted to ferret out The Bat's identity. But the film's true star is the swooping, ambulatory camera of director Roland West. We're treated to dizzying shots that plunge us down laundry chutes and over escarpments racing to keep up with the protagonists. One impressive nose dive takes us from the tip of a skyscraper to the street below. In fairness, the razzle dazzle is often undermined by repetitive longshots that betray the film's stage origins, but the overall effect is startling. Acting: B+ Atmosphere: A+ Fun: A+ RETURN TO TOP The Beach Girls and the Monster Kitsch-lovers alert! This one's got it all. Surfing, singing, surfing, a shaggy rubber monster, surfing, go-going teeny-boppers, surfing, Jon Hall and, did we mention surfing? Not just interspersed with the action, but a 10-minute chunk of uninterrupted surfing footage accompanied by twanging, Dick Dalesque guitar riffs. Producer, director, star Jon Hal was a pretty big deal in the 1940s, very often paired with curvaceous bombshell, Maria Montez in exotic, Technicolor B-features. In the 1950s, he was TV's Ramar of the Jungle. (He was also the son of Felix Locher, whom you may recall from Frankenstein's Daughter.) Hall hopped on the beach-movie bandwagon in 1965 with this fairly shoddy, immensely enjoyable pastiche featuring music by Frank Sinatra, Jr. (One noteworthy tune, "Monster in the Surf," is crooned by a puppet.) Hall committed suicide in 1979, but, contrary to rumor, it had nothing to do with his failings as a filmmaker (he was dying of cancer). As a kid, you may have caught this one on the late show under its TV title, Monster From the Surf. As an adult living in the miraculous era of DVD, it belongs in your collection. http://www.image-entertainment.com Acting: B- Atmosphere: C+ Fun: A+ RETURN TO TOP The Black Cat (1942) Not to be confused with the 1934 Ulmer/Karloff/Lugosi classic, this film is nonetheless interesting in its own way. One look at the cast will help explain. Lugosi is on hand in a ubiquitous red herring role. The stentorian Basil Rathbone is at his haughty best and comic Hugh Herbert takes up a good chunk of the action with his oddly endearing, baggy-pants shenanigans. The film's ostensible hero is a very young but already bellicose Broderick Crawford, and an up-and-coming Alan Ladd lurks in the background. There are one ot two creepy shots, but this grab-bag roster of thespians is the reason to watch. Acting: B- Atmosphere: B- Fun: B- RETURN TO TOP Calling Dr. Death (1943) At the height of his post-Wolf Man fame, the much-maligned Lon Chaney Jr. starred in a series of six Inner Sanctum films, vaguely based on the radio program of the same name. Headed into video distribution at last, Universal has released the films, each barely an hour long, as a series of double features. Calling Dr. Death kicks off the first coupling, with Lon going head-to-head with ace character actor J. Carroll Naish. Longtime B film helmsman Reginald LeBorg, who guided three of the films in the series, directs with a decided visual economy. Acting: B- Atmosphere: B+ Fun: B RETURN TO TOP The Cat and the Canary (1927) Sure, it's so old it creaks. But it creaks in all the right places. With this seminal silent shocker, German shadow-master Paul Leni whipped up a virtual blueprint for half of the old house mysteries subsequently filmed. Based on the long-running stage play, the film abounds with the horror film conventions we've come to take for granted. There's the reading of the will, the cloaked killer, the clutching hand, the startled heiress, the cowardly foil and the stiffened corpse falling from an opened closet. It's all delivered with a wink, however, as Leni plays fast and loose with shadows, camera angles, double exposures and even the title cards. Acting: B- Atmosphere: A+ Fun: A RETURN TO TOP The Clairvoyant (1934) Along with Basil Rathbone, George Sanders, Karloff and a handful of others, Claude Rains is possessed of a cultured voice and calculated delivery that one can listen to for hours. Following his stateside success as The Invisible Man, Rains returned to his native Britain to star in this modest shocker about a bogus prognosticator who suddenly finds several of his catastrophic predictions coming true. Fay Wray is fetching in an unusual British film appearance, and director Maurice Elvey wrings some solid chills from the proceedings. But it's the salubrious sound of Rains' anguished voice that dominates the film. For that alone, it's worth checking out this quirky oldie. Acting: A+ Atmosphere: B Fun: B- RETURN TO TOP Carnival of Blood (1971) Curse of the Headless Horseman (1971) Here are two indefensibly bad early-seventies shockers that devotees of splatter-film history are sure to love. Both films are directed by Leonard Kirtman, who worked under several aliases and turned out titles invested with such shameless sexual innuendo that we're frankly embarrassed to duplicate them here. These were among his first features, and they are amateurish in every aspect. Carnival of Blood hasn't an original notion in it, (the killer has a "mother complex") portions are crudely dubbed, and it looks to have been edited with a band saw. The soundtrack (we're scraping here, but it may be the film's most interesting feature) is a grab bag of period pop music; a whining folky with a nails-on-chalkboard voice sings over the titles, and "suspense" builds to a fuzz guitar and funk accompaniment. One hilarious scene is a back-and-forth between our hero and a clairvoyant gypsy woman ("You did!" "I didn't!" "Yes!" "No!") that goes on for 10 minutes or so against the backdrop of a Walter Salman painting of Jesus. We get to see a head split in half, a teddy bear stuffed with undercooked chuck roast that supposed to look like human entrails and, oh yeah, Rocky's Burt Young plays Gimpy. Curse of the Headless Horseman (the title alone should tell you how much originality is to be found here) is just as bad in different ways. To begin with, there are lots and lots of narration, a vain attempt to cover exposition (which might have cost money to actually show on film) and plug continuity holes. It doesn't help, but it sure is funny. It seems that Kirtland is going for a kind of Sergio Leone feel this time (flamenco guitar and a whistlin' cowboy fill the soundtrack) as a mysterious rider, sans cabeza, stalks a Spahn Ranch-like compound, splattering hippies with blood from a decapitated head. Some viewers might find it interesting that Andy Warhol protege, Ultra Violet, makes a cameo. I didn't. The film closes with the same belicose narrator: "It will begin again! It will begin again! It will begin again!" -- no kiddin', he says it about 30 or 40 times -- perhaps to warn theater patrons that the film would be repeated, and this was their last chance to clear out. Gore-film completists will definitely want this disc on their shelves. All others, beware! http://www.image-entertainment.com Acting: D- Atmosphere: D- Fun: D RETURN TO TOP Daughters of Darkness (1971) I know, I know, this one has a devoted cult following. I know, I know, it's elegantly, cerebrally European in its approach. It's also thuddingly boring and annoyingly pretentious. The oh-so-adult nude scenes are protracted and gratuitous and unresolved plot points are left to dangle maddeningly. Its central character is Elisabeth Bathory, an actual historical figure famous for slaughtering young maidens and bathing in their blood. Acting: C- Atmosphere: D Fun: D- RETURN TO TOP Dead Man's Eyes (1944) The Lon Chaney-Inner Sanctum films, based in part on the classic radio program of the same name, are being released by MCA-Universal as a series of double features. The second installment begins with Dead Man's Eyes, directed, like the bulk of the series, by journeyman Reginald LeBorg (The Black Sleep, Jungle Woman). Chaney is at his hysterical best as an artist doused with acid by a jilted model (the Jungle Woman herself, Acquanetta). Thomas Gomez, Paul Kelly and Jonathan Hale round out the solid cast of B film regulars. Acting: B Atmosphere: B+ Fun: B+ RETURN TO TOP The Frozen Ghost (1945) Though nowhere near as vivid as other films in the Inner Sanctum series, this one has its moments. Lon Chaney is a guilt-plagued mentalist who loses a volunteer subject to the throes of a hypnotic spell. Director Harold Young boasted a lengthy and varied B film career, and turns in a workmanlike effort, as do character players such as Martin Kosleck and Douglas Dumbrille. Acting: B- Atmosphere: B- Fun: B- RETURN TO TOP Gargoyles (1972) This above-average TV thriller debuted in 1972 and it's been playing nonstop on the tube ever since. If you haven't caught this one on cable by now, it can only be because you don't own a TV set. It's really not terrible and producer-star Cornel Wilde is to be commended for his ingenuity in choosing locations and utilizing Stan Winston's ambitious monster suits to the fullest. Former NFL-Blaxploitation star Bernie Casey is top gargoyle with Wilde and Jennifer Salt as father-daughter anthropologists. Acting: B Atmosphere: B- Fun: B- RETURN TO TOP The Headless Ghost (1959) The letterbox video release of this Herman Cohen-produced absurdity (originally released soon after Cohen's fun-filled stomach-turner Horrors of the Black Museum) can only be of interest to widescreen purists. As patently dopey as Black Museum is horrific, this trite tale of a trio of fortyish-looking college students sequestered in a British castle doesn't deliver a single thrill. Ostensibly a horror/comedy (!), the ghosts are bumbling and grumpy and the insipid banter of the protagonists wears thin in the early going. For what it's worth, the ad art is great. Acting: D- Atmosphere: D Fun: C RETURN TO TOP Horrors Of The Black Museum (1959) We've reviewed this classic, pandering shocker in the past, but it's now been re-released in letterbox format so that fright film fans might enjoy it in all its 'Hypno-Vistic' glory. Vividly recalled by even casual viewers, an unctuous Michael Gough stars as a demented writer exacting varied and hideous methods of murder. Fans who haven't watched the film in 30 years recall with disgust the binoculars scene. The re-release includes the film's original 'Hypno-Vista' prologue. Acting: B Atmosphere: B- Fun: B+ RETURN TO TOP Jungle Captive (1944) The lovely Acquanetta was Paula the Ape Woman in both Captive Wild Woman and Jungle Woman. The third time out, Vicky Lane wears Paula's pelt, and Otto Kruger is the madcap medico determined to revive her. Rondo Hatton is hustled through another freak-show role as Kruger's malformed, slow-witted assistant, "Moloch the Brute," and was given billing as such on movie posters. Enjoyable, but pretty much what you'd expect from a series that's gone one sequel too many. Acting: C+ Atmosphere: C Fun: C+ RETURN TO TOP Night Tide (1961) Dennis Hopper stars as a beguiled sailor, convinced that sideshow sweetie Linda Lawson is a real live mermaid. Cult director Curtis Harrington (Queen of Blood) fashioned this atmospheric chiller out of meager ingredients and came up with a moody, if slow-moving fantasy. The seamy seaside setting is well-utilized and the offbeat premise has helped the film accrue a cult following. But it's the quirky cast that brings life to the thing: Dennis Hopper, nuttily engaging, as always, Luana (Dementia 13) Anders, everyone's favorite "heavy," Bruno Ve Sota, and sultry lounge chanteuse Linda Lawson as the chick 'o the sea. Acting: B+ Atmosphere: A- Fun: B RETURN TO TOP Pillow of Death (1945) Veteran Wallace Fox directs this lackluster Inner Sanctum installment. Pillow of Death, about as unspooky a title as you're ever likely to hear, features Lon Chaney as a typically tormented lug who's driven by the voice of his deceased wife to smother people with pillows rather than affection. Acting: B- Atmosphere: C+ Fun: B- RETURN TO TOP She Wolf of London (1946) The cast is cool: June (Lost in Space) Lockhart, Martin (Flesh Eaters) Kosleck, Dennis "Inspector Lestrade" Hoey, Don Porter and Lloyd Corrigan. And some scenes are actually rather atmospheric. The only thing really wrong with the movie is that nothing at all seems to happen. This one-hour programmer feels like two, at least. The plot, such as it is, hangs upon whether or not red-herring June has inherited her family's lycanthropic curse. If you haven't determined the answer by the second murder, shame on you. Acting: B- Atmosphere: D+ Fun: D RETURN TO TOP Shock (1946) This often overlooked minor gem is well worth the second glance it's getting thanks to a clean new video print. Directed with an undeniable penny-pinching pizzazz by Alfred Werker (He Walked By Night) this low-rent thriller provided the first genuine showcase for Vincent Price's villainous talents, and Price delivers the goods beyond question. As a wife-murdering shrink abetted by perkily appealing Lynn Bari, Price exhibits the engaging brand of sinister suavity that later ensured his place as a thrill-film icon. Acting: A- Atmosphere: B+ Fun: B+ RETURN TO TOP Stange Confession (1945) J. Carrol Naish returns to the Inner Sanctum series to torment Lon Chaney in Strange Confession, a low-rent remake of Claude Rains' 1934 classic The Man Who Reclaimed His Head. Chaney made the portrayal of sweaty, tormented tough guys on the edge of hysteria his stock-in-trade. Whether you find him effective or hammy will determine to what degree you enjoy these films. Acting: B- Atmosphere: B+ Fun: B RETURN TO TOP Weird Woman (1944) Lon Chaney is at his perspiring best in Weird Woman, an energetic treatment of Fritz Leiber's classic story Conjure Wife. Evelyn Ankers and Anne Gwynne are rivals for Chaney's amorous attentions, with Ankers cast against type as the villainess. Reliable Reggie LeBorg directs sure-handedly. The same story was later filmed in Britain as Burn Witch Burn. Acting: B Atmosphere: A Fun: A- RETURN TO TOP White Zombie (1932) The Halperin Brothers' creaky, creepy, crusty masterpiece is back in release with a sparkling print from the folks at Englewood Entertainment. For those willing to invest in the film's funereal pacing and ulta-melodramatics, White Zombie pays off richly. Bela Lugosi, who threw every atom of his being into even the lowliest roles, was never better, and his collection of unflappable, wild-eyed zombies are still scary after nearly 70 years. The movie's matter-of-fact handling of horror is its chief asset -- when a hapless, zombified plantation worker stumbles into a mill and is crushed to death, the camera barely pauses to acknowledge the tragedy. Acting: B+ Atmosphere: A+ Fun: A- RETURN TO TOP